Middle Ground
by angellwings
Summary: JONAS. Maybe it was both of them. Maybe it was a combination of him losing his cool and her acting like less of a fangirl that made things different...


**A/N:** Yes, I know…as a Kacy shipper I should be writing Kacy and covering the ground that we've lost lately, but can I help it if Nacy turned out to be SUPER adorable? No, I can't. So here is the first Nacy I've written FOR ME. And not for a friend, haha. Kacy is still my OTP, but even I have to admit…Nacy works. So, after watching episode 2 like…five times in a row I was in the mood to write Nick. I like him a lot more in Jonas LA. He's more approachable, and _adorkable_ which allows me to feel like it _is_ possible for Nacy to work now. I hope you guys like this. Nacy is still pretty new for me. Enjoy!

* * *

Middle Ground

By angellwings

* * *

Nick didn't know what was wrong with him. From the minute they arrived in L.A. he'd been off his game. First there were the phone calls. He was never going to live those down. Emma Roberts would forever be calling him "Babe." Then there was that hug with Macy. What had that been about anyway? He felt like it had happened in slow motion. Had he said he missed her? He couldn't even remember speaking.

All he remembered was her dress, her smile, and her…glow. Something about her was different. And it didn't matter how many times people said it, he didn't _feel_ like the change had anything to do with her acting like less of a fangirl. Although it certainly didn't hurt, but he didn't think _that_ was why things were different between the two of them.

Because it wasn't like he just suddenly found her interesting. She'd always been interesting. He'd just worked hard to appear _un_interested. Now suddenly he wasn't doing that. Maybe it wasn't HER that wasn't different. Was it him?

He certainly would have never TRIED to answer for her before, and if he had she certainly would have never reacted like that. No, she would have given him a pass because he was "of JONAS." But EVEN if she had gotten mad…would he have gone to the same extremes to make it right? No, he knew he wouldn't have. Something about Horace Mantis used to make him so concerned with keeping his "cool" which, thanks to L.A., he now knew he had NONE of.

So now, flopping all over the beach like a washed up fish in public didn't bother him as much. Maybe it hurt his pride a little, but that was because _Macy_ saw him. He could have cared less about all the other people.

And _Stone_. would _Stone_ have bothered him so much if he was just another athletic student at HMA? If _Stone_ (why did he keep thinking that name in a sneer?) were just another chiseled football player that Macy came into contact with daily would he have reacted the same way? No. He would have _thought_ about doing everything he did, but that's as far as it would have gone. He still wouldn't have liked the guy, but he wouldn't have been as obvious about it.

Maybe it was _both_ of them. Maybe it was a combination of him losing his cool and her acting like less of a fangirl that made things different or that, at the very least, made him _act_ on his interest.

"Nick!"

He looked up and found Macy several strides ahead of him on the beach, "Yeah?"

"Are you okay? You stopped."

"Stopped?" He asked as he was brought back to the present.

Macy giggled at his clueless expression, "Walking? We're on the beach? _Venice_ Beach? Anybody home in there at all?"

He chuckled and caught up with her, "I'm here."

"Good," Macy said with a nod. "Because I want an ice cream cone, and you're buying."

"Oh, am I?" He asked with a quirked brow and a grin.

"Yes, you are," She announced as she wrapped a hand around his wrist and pulled him toward the ice cream stand. "You owe me for forgiving you so easily."

"Easily? Macy, I had to borrow a wetsuit, a surf board, and a ride with DZ _and his mom_ for you to forgive me. AND I wiped out. How much more do I owe you?"

"Well, you owe me an ice cream," She told him as she counted on her fingers. "And a new hat because mine was ruined earlier."

"And that's it? I buy you those two things and I'm forgiven?"

"No, you're already forgiven. Buying me those things just earns you back all the brownie points you lost," Macy told him with a playful smile.

He chuckled and pulled out his wallet, "What kind of ice cream do you want?"

"Only the simplest and most amazing flavor ever…chocolate," Macy said with a victorious smirk. "And in a cone. Ice cream in a cup is a cop out."

"How is ice cream in a cup a cop out?"

"Because only people who are afraid to get messy order ice cream in a cup, and Macy Misa is no wimp."

_No, she's not_, Nick thought as he ordered and paid for two cones. Macy led them to some street vendors set up on the beach much like _Stone_ had been, but these people sold things like sunscreen, sunglasses, umbrellas, and—Macy's goal—hats. She glared thoughtfully at the selection laid out on one table as she slowly enjoyed her ice cream. Nick had to keep himself from staring. It was probably really dangerous to be captivated by Macy's mouth so he tried his hardest NOT to watch her eat her ice cream.

He did not succeed. They had looked over three tables before Macy finally gasped and snatched up a hat tucked in the back corner of the table.

"This looks just like the one I lost!"

"Then that one's the winner?"

"Definitely," Macy smiled. "Now I don't have to tell Stella I lost it, and as long as she doesn't look inside at the label I'll keep breathing."

Nick laughed and paid the vendor for the hat and they returned to the shoreline.

"So," Macy started as they walked along the water. "You realize I probably would have hated working for Stone and come back to the Jonas site within the week right?"

"No, I didn't realize that," Nick told her honestly.

She smiled softly at him, "You had some valid points earlier when we were talking to Stone. Not about why I couldn't work for him, but about the differences between what he does and Jonas."

"I did?"

"Yes, you said your site was for your fans where as his was mostly about slapping his name on everything and selling it at a crazy price. I wouldn't have enjoyed it at all. And I would have gotten sick of Stone pretty quickly too. He's cute, but he's extremely narcissistic, and while I appreciate that he finds me attractive…he never used my name. Not once. Oh no, I definitely would not have lasted long working for him," Macy said as her frustration peeked through. "I definitely don't think his offer to give me surfing lessons was legit. Before you walked up and ran for the water his hands were hovering in places they shouldn't have been."

Nick scoffed, "I'm not surprised."

"No, I guess you're not," Macy chuckled. "You saw through him quicker than I did."

Nick smirked at her, "You saw through him too. You just refused to admit it because you wanted to prove a point to me."

Macy gave him an interested glance, "What point do you think I was trying to prove?"

"The fact that have absolutely no right to make any sort of decision for you whatsoever and I think sometimes we take for granted that you're going to be there. I know I do. Sometimes I assume that you just can't get mad at me, which isn't true. I think that's another thing you wanted to prove. At least to me, anyway."

Macy looked down at the tide lapping against the shore as they walked, and said nothing. He took that silence as a confirmation that he was right, "It won't happen again, Macy. Or at least I'll try my hardest to _keep_ it from happening. I promise."

She looked up and smiled softly at him, "You're different too, you know."

He nodded and said nothing. He _did_ know.

"I like it," Macy told him brightly. "I like this Nick. You seem more…_human_. It's nice."

He was right. They were _both_ different. She had gained some cool, and he had lost a lot of his. It was sort of like the universe was giving them even more common ground to stand on. If losing his cool meant more time with Macy…then he didn't mind one bit.


End file.
